https://issuesinsights.com/2019/08/27/three-poll-results-on-trump-the-press-doesnt-want-you-to-know-about/
How do you cover a poll that shows satisfaction with the economy, despite all the harrumphing about an impending recession, is much higher than it ever was under President Barack Obama? Or reveals that views on race relations are actually better today than three years ago? Or shows that most think the political system is being shaken up in a good way?
Answer: You don’t. That is, if you’re a mainstream media outlet and the poll is your own.
Here’s the scary headline NBC News ran on the poll it conducted with the Wall Street Journal and published over the weekend: “’A deep and boiling anger’: NBC/WSJ poll finds a pessimistic America despite current economic satisfaction.”
The really important finding, according to NBC, was that “70% of Americans say they’re angry at the political establishment.”
But it turns out that this anger level is unchanged since October 2015. That means the “deep and boiling anger” was happening under Obama. Why isn’t that the headline?
Sure, you can say that the anger has continued under Trump. But the story we’ve been told repeatedly for two years is that Trump is responsible for the current climate of hatred and discord. The fact that the poll debunks this narrative is newsworthy.
The NBC reporters covering their own poll ignore another newsworthy finding. More people feel good about race relations today than they did under Obama.